Beater for drums



July 28, 1959 5. w. DANE 2,896,492

BEATER FOR DRUMS Filed Sept. 2a, 195% BRUCE w. DANE INVEN TOR.

BEATER FOR DRUMS Bruce W. Dane, Roselle, NJ.

Application September 26, 1955, Serial No. 536,564

7 Claims. (Cl. 84-422) This invention relates to drum heaters and more particularly to an improved drum beater of the felt class.

Felt drum heaters are used for the percussive actuation of a bass drum, a scotch bass drum or a tenor drum. Such beaters comprise a substantially spherical head carried by a somewhat resilient handle. In the past, the head has been made of solid felt which is expensive, diflicult to shape and, more importantly, the solid felt head loses its shape in a relatively short period of use. ,Contrastingly, a beater head made in accordance with my invention comprises a cork center having a felt covering thereon, whereby the head is less expensive to manuf acture, is of a pleasing appearance, affords improved playing characteristics, and retains its shape over a greatly extended playing life. Certain other features are provided with respect to the securing of the head to the handle and the handle tip arrangement to which is secured the conventional thong, all of which are described in detail hereinbelow.

An object of this invention is the provision of a felt drum beater of improved appearance, construction and playing characteristics and one which can be produced more economically than present devices of this class.

An object of this invention is the provision of a drum beater of the felt class wherein the head comprises complementary bodies of cork in the shape of substantial hemispheres, felt coverings secured to the arcuate surfaces of each body, a flat spacing washer of solid felt, and means for securing the bodies and washer in assembled relation on the end of handle to form substantially a spherical head.

An object of this invention is the provision of a drum beater comprising a handle having a tapered end, a pair of substantially-hemispherica1 cork bodies each having a covering of felt secured thereon, a fiat washer of solid felt, 'alined central holes in the bodies and the washer whereby these components can be inserted over the tapered end of the handle to form a substantially spherical head, a lower cup-shaped washer having a central hole and inserted over the tapered end of the handle said lower Washer limiting the extent to which the assembled head can be forced along the handle, an upper cup-like washer, and a fastening screw passing through a hole in the upper washer and threaded in an axial bore formed in the handle, said screw serving to compress the assembled head between the cup-shaped washers.

An object of this invention is the provision of a drum beater of the type described and including a substantially spherical tip secured to the end of the beater handle by means of a screw operating in an axial hole formed in the tip and being threaded in an aligned bore formed in the end of the handle, an enlarged-diameter, inner groove formed in said tip, and a wire spring removably secured to the tip, said spring having a central ting section partially protruding from the tip, arms ex- "ice tending into the axial hole formed in the tip, and curled ends disposed in said groove at diametrically-opposed points.

These and other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description when taken with the accompanying drawings illustrating a drum beater made in accordance with this invention. It will be understood, however, that the drawings are for purposes of illustration and are not to be construed as defining the scope or limits of the invention, reference being had for the latter purpose to the appended claims.

In the drawings wherein like reference characters denote like parts in the several views:

Figure l is .an exploded view, with parts in section, showing the component parts making up the head;

Figure 2 is an elevational view of the complete drum beater, with parts in section;

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary, central sectional view of the handle end to which a conventional thong is usually attached; and

Figure 4 is an elevational view showing the wire spring.

Reference is now made to Figure 1 wherein there are shown, in elevation and partial section, the components which make up the head proper. More particularly, the head comprises predominantly a pair of identical bodies 10, 10 made of solid cork and of approximately hemispherical shape. The entire arcuate or curved outer surface of each body is enclosed by felt coverings 11, 11, said coverings being intimately secured to the respective body as by a rubber base cement. The central portion of the head comprises a solid felt washer 12 having a thickness somewhat less than the corresponding dimensions of one of the cork bodies, and "an optional pair of relatively-thin washers 13, 13 also made of solid felt. These washers 'are optional as they increase the length of the head along the handle if a longer'head is desired and could be omitted from the assembly if a shorter head is desired. Each of these components is provided with a central hole. In assembling the components to form a unitary, substantiallyspherical head, the adjacent surfaces are coated with a rubber base cement, inserted over a suitable mandrel in the relative positions shown in the drawing and placed into a sperical compression mold until the cement has set.

It may here be pointed out that the use of the thin felt washers 13, 13' is for purposes of appearance, making it possible to provide a head of three distinct colors. For example, the felt coverings 11, 11' may be white, the thick center felt 12 may be blue and the two thin felts 13, 13 may be red. Such three color combinations are not only pleasing in appearance but the colors may be selected to correspond to the colors of a particular band or drum corps.

Reference is now made to Figure 2. A lower or handle-adjacent, bowl-shaped washer 14 is first inserted over the unshouldered tapered end of a handle 16 preferably made of fiber glass and having a diameter such as will provide the required resiliency for use of the beater. It will be noted that the washer 14, preferably made of aluminum with a polished outer surface, is provided with a central hole, such hole having a diameter such that the washer can be inserted over the handle to a predetermined extent along the tapered end. When such washer is forced to its limiting position along the handle, the edge of the handle extends almost through the assembled head. A similar upper or handle-remote, bowl-shaped washer 15 is provided except that such washer has an inturned central section to accommodate the countersunk head of a fastening screw 17. Such screw may be of the selftapping type and is threaded into an axial bore 18 provided in the handle end. In order to prevent the possible splitting of the handle as the screw 17 is drawn up tight, a metal ferrule or band 19 may be inserted over the end of the handle. The diameter of the alined cen tral holes formed in the components of the head is slightly less than the minimum diameter of the tapered portion of the handle, so that a twistingforce is required to force the assembled head along the tapered handle. When attaching the head to the handle, I coat the tapered handle portion with a suitable glue and also apply a small quantity of glue in the hole 18. The fastennig screw 17 is then threaded into the hole so that the head is squeezed between the opposed washers 14 and 15 and when the glue dries there is no change of the head becoming loose even under the most severe conditions of use.

As shown in Figure 1, the solid felt Washers 12, 13 and 13' preferably, have an initial diameter somewhat larger than that of the felt-covered cork bodies 10, After the head is secured tothe handle, the beater is rotated in a suitable machine and the peripheral surface is cut, by means such as a sharp blade, to a uniform diameter as shown in Figure 2. Such finishing operation forms clean-cut, smooth edges on the solid felt washers and presents the colors clearly to view.

Drum beaters of this class are usually provided with an attached thong which the user encircles about his wrist to prevent accidental loss of the beater during strenuous use or twirling thereof. In the past, the end of the beater handle has had attached thereto a spherical tip provided with two, spaced radial holes terminating in an axial hole coinciding with the axis of the handle. Both ends of the throng were passed through the axial hole with each end passing outwardly through one of the radial holes, after which the ends were tied together. 'Aside from the cost of forming the holes in the spherical tip and the difiiculty of passing the thong ends through the diverging radial holes, the knotted end of the thongs interferes with the twirling of the heater. I overcome these objections by providing a novel tip and spring arrangement as shown in the enlarged view of Figure 3. The lower or free end of the hand-gripped portion of the handle is provided with a concave surface 20 and an axial bore 21, the curvature of the surface 20 corresponding to the radius of the plastic ball or tip 22. This ball has an axial bore 23 formed therein said bore terminating in an undercut, circular groove 24 and communicating with the axial bore 25 at the conical surface 26. A self-tapping screw 27 is employed to secure the tip 22 to the end of the handle, as shown. In order to prevent loosening of the ball tip a suitable plastic cement may be applied to the surface 20 and in the bore 21 prior to threading the screw 27 to its fullest extent.

A wire spring, see also Figure 4, serves as a means for removably securing a conventional thong to the beater. Specifically, the spring has a central section in the form of a single loop 30, and a pair of generally parallel arms 31 each terminating in curled end portions 32. The spring is inserted into position by pressing the arms into the bore 23, the curving of the end portions facilitating this operation, until said end portions snap into groove 24, the free ends of said portions 32 engaging the outer end wall defining said groove at positions spaced laterally outward from the bore 23.

Having now described my invention in detail in accordance with the requirements of the patent statutes, what I desire to protect by Letters Patent of the United States is set forth in the following claims.

I claim:

, 1. A head for a drum beater comprising a pair of complementary, oppositely-disposed bodies of cork, each body being of approximately hemispherical form, felt coatings covering the arcuate surfaces of each body, a solid washer of felt disposed betweenthe two saidbodies, :and means securing the bodies and the washer in assembled relatio in the form of a body having rounded ends.

2. The invention as recited in claim 1, including a pair of additional washers of solid felt each disposed between the first said washer of felt and the adjacent surface of the cork body.

3. A drum beater comprising a handle, a head secured at one end of the handle, a ball tip secured to the other end of the handle'said tip having an axial bore therein communicating with an internal, enlarged-diameter groove, a spring carried by said tip, said spring having a central loop portion protruding from the tip, generally parallel arms passing through the said axial bore, and outwardly-curled ends disposed in the said groove.

4. A drum beater comprising a handle having a tapered end; a first bowl-shaped washer having a central hole and inserted over the tapered end of the handle; a lower approximately hemispherical body of cork having a felt covering attached .to its arcuate surface and abutting the said first bowl-shaped washer; a fiat central washer of solid felt cemented to the flat surface of the said lower body; an upper approximately hemispherical body of cork having a felt covering cemented to its arcuate surface and its flat-surface attached to the said central washer; a second bowl-shaped washer having a central hole therein and abutting the covering of the upper body; a screw passing through the said second bowl-shaped washer and threaded into an axial hole formed in the tapered end of the handle, said screw clamping the upper and lower bodies between the two bowl-shaped washers; a ball tip having an axial bore therein communicating with an internal, enlarged-diameter groove; means securing said ball tip to the opposite end of the handle; and a wire spring secured to the ball tip, said spring having a central loop portion protruding from the axial bore of the tip, a pair of diversely-biased arms passing into such bore, and outwardly-curled ends disposed in the said groove.

5. A drum beater comprising a resilient handle having a tapered end, a first washer having a central hole and disposed over said tapered end, a head comprising a first body of solid cork of approximately hemispherical form, a felt coating attached to andcovering its arcuate surface, said body having a central hole and disposed over the tapered end of the handle, with its covered arcuate surface abutting said first washer, a central fiat washer of solid felt having one surface cemented to the fiat surface of the firstbody, a second body of solid cork of approximately hemispherical form having its flat surface attached to the other surface of the fiat washer, a felt coating cemented to and covering its arcuate surface, a second washer having a central hole and abutting the covered arcuate surface of said second body, and a fastening screw passing through said second washer and threaded into an axial hole in the end of the handle.

6. The invention as recited in claim 5, including a second fiat washer of solid felt attached between the second body and the central washer, and a third fiat washer of solid felt attached between the first body and the central washer.

7. A drum beater comprising a handle having a tapered end; a first bowl-shaped washer having a central hole and inserted over the tapered end of the handle; a first ap proximately hemispherical body of cork having a felt covering attached to its arcuate surface and a central hole receiving the tapered end of said handle, said covering abutting the said first bowl-shaped Washer; a second approximately hemispherical body of cork having a felt covering attached to its arcuate surface and a central hole receiving the tapered-end of said handle; a second bowlshaped washer having a central hole and abutting the covering of the upper body; a screw passing through the said second bowl-shaped washer. and threaded into an axial hole in the tapered end of the handle, said screw clamping the first and second bodies between the two bowl-shaped Washers; a ball tip having an axial bore c0m municating with an internal, enlarged-diameter groove; means securing said ball tip to the opposite end of the handle; and a retaining device secured to the ball tip, said device having a central 100p portion protruding from the axial bore of the tip, a pair of diversely-biased arms passing into such bore, and outwardly-curled ends disposed in the said groove.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Zipperstein Dec. 10, 1929 Haight Jan. 3, 1933 Ball June 26, 1934 Hirai Dec. 23, 1941 Pond June 27, 1944 Kane Aug. 24, 1948 Heiderich et al. Feb. 19, 1952 Dane July 16, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain J an. 3, 1907 Australia Dec. 10, 1931 

